The story will end happily, starting Monday
Even after talking to Clarity Plus, I decided to purchase another acrylic tank to replace it. Unfortunately, the story did get sadder: When my tank was made, Clarity Plus' 100G flat-back-hex was exactly 59 1/2" long. I purchased the acrylic stand and canopy when I bought the tank. About 5-6 years ago, they decided that it was stupid to have a tank that was 1/2" shorter than everyone else, so they started making all of their 100G fbh tanks exactly 60" long. If I were to purchase an "in stock" tank, it would be 1/2" too long to fit into the stand. A new stand runs about $900, so replacing the stand wasn't going to be the answer. Unfortunately, I had to have a tank custom-made so it would fit into my stand. They recommended that if I were to stick with my metal halide lights (which I am), that the top of the tank should be 1/2" instead of the standard 3/8". On tanks up to 100G, 3/8" is acceptable, but any larger, and the thickness goes to 1/2".
Here I'm going to spend about $1,000, just to get my aquarium looking exactly like it did the day the seam let loose. It seemed to be such a sad way to spend a grand, so I decided to have them make the tank 6" taller, making the capacity about 125 gallons, plus all of the acrylic is 1/2" thick.
I got a call from the trucking company yesterday (Friday), and the tank will be delivered on Monday. It took about 5 weeks to have the tank custom made, not by Clarity Plus, but by the guy who originally owned Clarity Plus before selling it to Casco in California. It was going to cost $300 to ship the tank from CA to GA, and having the tank made at the original Clarity Plus factory in Hudsonville, MI saved me $75 in shipping alone. Because I went from 3/8" sides to 1/2" sides, added an extra 6" in height, my early Christmas present to myself set me back a little over $1,350.
Note: The back of the tank did not bow because of poor construction, or too much stress on it. It bowed because the acrylic cement let loose, causing the back panel to bow from the water pressure, until it cracked on both sides from the stress, letting water run out of the tank.
I was able to line up the seems again, using C-clamps, and other tools which pressed against the wall of the house, forcing the tank back to re-align itself with the top. I re-cemented it, prayed a lot, then filled it up just as if nothing had happened. That worked until about a week ago, when it let go again. I had a brace against the back wall, to keep the acrylic panel from bowing if the joint failed again. I wanted to be able to use my prefilter, chiller, protein skimmer, and short of drilling new drain holes about 5" down from the top, it seemed like my best choice. Nothing died, but I aged about 10 years in a very short time.
I'm going to ask for some advice on the best way to totally tear down the old tank, and set up the new tank. I have ich in the tank right now, and lots of live rock, so I plan on using hyposalinity in the new tank before I add any fish. Naturally, I'll have to move my clam, coral band shrimp, brittle star, and possibly my leather coral, and replace them after the salinity is back to normal parameters (1.023-1.025).
Thanks for the condolences, it has been a real ordeal, but I really look forward to setting up my new tank. It's been so long since I've been able to completely "start over".
Jim H.
